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Taylor Swift is back on top of the charts with 'Opalite'

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

There's a familiar voice at the top of the Billboard charts this week.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OPALITE")

TAYLOR SWIFT: (Singing) I had a bad habit of missing lovers past.

CHANG: Taylor Swift is now back at No. 1 on the Hot 100, but Bad Bunny hasn't gone anywhere. The Super Bowl halftime show continues to loom large over the charts. NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento takes a closer look.

ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: Do music videos still make an impact? If you're Taylor Swift, they certainly do. The singer released her blockbuster album "The Life Of A Showgirl" back in October, but a new video for the song "Opalite," along with vinyl preorders for that single, are helping secure Swift's reign on the charts.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OPALITE")

SWIFT: (Singing) Sleepless in the onyx night, but now the sky is opalite.

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: On Instagram, Swift celebrated hitting No. 1 by profusely thanking her fans. She noted it's the first time in over a decade that she has had two different songs from the same album reach that milestone. The last time was with the album, "1989," which came out in 2014.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BLANK SPACE")

SWIFT: (Singing) I've got a blank space, baby, and I'll write your name.

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Also on the Hot 100, country singer Ella Langley keeps going strong. Her song "Choosin' Texas," her highest-charting single to date, follows Swift in the No. 2 spot.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHOOSIN' TEXAS")

ELLA LANGLEY: (Singing) He's choosin' Texas. I can tell.

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: On the albums chart, Bad Bunny's "DeBI TiRAR MaS FOToS," which came out over a year ago, reclaimed the top spot. It's been building to that point for a couple of weeks, coming off of his big win at the Grammys and, of course, his Super Bowl halftime performance.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DEBI TIRAR MAS FOTOS")

BAD BUNNY: (Singing in Spanish).

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: The Puerto Rican superstar's 2022 album, "Un Verano Sin Ti," is also back in the top 10. But two of the biggest rap albums of recent weeks are holding their ground. J Cole and Don Toliver hold the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TWO SIX")

J COLE: (Rapping) I remember you was getting A's. Now you failing us, playing hard for the white boys that can't tell the diff.

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: And good news for movie fans. Original soundtracks led by big stars can still make a mark. The "Wuthering Heights" album by Charli xcx debuts at No. 8.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DYING FOR YOU")

CHARLI XCX: (Singing) All the pain and torture that I went through all makes sense to me now. I was dying for you. I was dying for you. I was dying for you.

GOMEZ SARMIENTO: The film itself has been polarizing, but clearly, fans are into the music. Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DYING FOR YOU")

CHARLI XCX: (Singing) All the pain and torture that I went through all makes sense to me now. I was dying for you. I was dying for you. I was dying for you. I'll keep dying for you. I'll keep dying for you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento is a production assistant with Weekend Edition.